The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is about a week away from submitting its revised Environmental
Assessment (EA) on widening I-25 for fed-eral approval, according to CDOT engineer James Flohr.
“We're in the process of finalizing all the answers to questions and
comments we received in the review process,” he told the Westside Pioneer.
The information will be submitted to the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA). A decision from the FHWA is expected in early September, according to Flohr.
A favorable decision would allow CDOT to start construction design, with
work expected to begin by spring or summer of next year. However, if the feds believe a deeper analysis is needed, that would
require studies which could delay the project for several months. The biggest complaint has come from residents east of the
interstate (in the downtown area's North End), who have argued for better noise controls.
The project, as proposed, would start by widening I-25 to three lanes
between the Cimarron and Rockrimmon interchanges.